Hybrid Apartment Farm

Designing An Agricultural Building Type

The Hybrid Farm Apartment is a new building type designed for cities, which offers farm space for locally grown produce as well as residences. This particular hybrid farm design also addresses local conditions at the High Line and positions the hybrid building within the general context of architecture in the area. The geometry of the building adjusts to the angle of the sun throughout the day. Only the top of the building sees the morning sun because of the height of the surrounding buildings in Chelsea. As the sun comes across the sky to the West, the building twists to evenly distribute daylight throughout the day. The farm terraces are accessible by residents of the apartments on each floor. There is a public observation garden on the top floor and an art gallery on the second floor, both accessible from the High Line.

The form of the building was generated by a set of rules that are completely guided by the path of the sun in order to optimize sun exposure for the farm. The result is a dynamically angled facade that uses high performing insulation ETFE material to maintain the internal environment year-round. The base of the building is tapered inward to maximize the public space at street level. The High Line level maximizes the width of the site for the gallery space and apartments above.